Looking for an easy chicken skillet dinner? This paleo, keto, and Whole30 Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic will knock your socks off with flavor! It’s a great skillet dish to add to your meal prep!

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Originally published on May 26, 2016. Last modified on November 5, 2020.

Yessssss….you read that right….

It does, indeed, say Chicken With 40 Cloves Of Garlic.

I found a recipe for this in an old cookbook — so long ago I couldn’t tell you which cookbook. It wasn’t even mine!

If memory serves correctly, I had to adapt the cookbook’s version because I didn’t have all the ingredients or something.

The one thing I do remember? There was and will always be thyme and 40 cloves of garlic in this recipe!

We seriously love our garlic in this house.

We shoot it down raw at the first sign of illness.

We use it to treat ear infections.

It’s a powerful antibiotic and anti-fungal, so it’s one of those things we just consume on a regular basis as part of our healthy lifestyle.

Also…it tastes sooooooo gooooooooood.

Keto Chicken with… 40 Cloves of Garlic?

Apparently, this is a classic recipe — even Martha Stewart has a recipe for Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic on her site!

My version is much simpler — no flour, no onions, no broth or wine, no gravy-making. Not that there’s anything wrong with onions or gravy or wine, of course. It’s just that I like simple food with minimal ingredients that tastes like it’s from a 5-star restaurant.

And I think I’ve created it in this minimalistic Keto Chicken with 40 cloves of Garlic that’s also paleo and Whole30-friendly.

It’s one of our family’s favorite dishes!

In fact, when I made it for this photoshoot, they came into the kitchen, asking what smelled. As soon as they saw the chicken and garlic in the cast iron skillet, they both screamed, “YES! SHE’S MAKING THE CHICKEN AND GARLIC!!!!!”

And I smiled, completely content that my peeps embrace our food and lifestyle so enthusiastically.

Alright, enough with the #mombragging already. Are you ready to see if I’m for real with this recipe?

5 from 2 votes

Print

Keto Chicken With 40 Cloves Of Garlic

CourseMain Dish

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Author Lindsey Dietz

Ingredients

• 8organic bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 1-1/2teaspoonsalt
• 1teaspoonblack pepper
• 2teaspoonsground thyme
• 3tablespoonspastured lard
• 40clovesof garlicpeeled

Instructions

1. Lay the chicken on a rimmed cookie sheet, skin facing up, and sprinkle it generously with salt, pepper, and thyme.

2. Heat a large cast iron skillet on medium-high heat and add the lard.

3. When the skillet is hot, reduce the heat to medium. Use tongs to place the seasoned skin side of the chicken down into the hot oil. You'll probably only be able to fit half of the chicken into the skillet. That's ok. Do two batches; don't try to cram it all in there.

4. With the skin side down in the skillet, sprinkle the bone side (side facing up) with more salt, pepper, and thyme.

5. If you're cooking half the chicken in this first batch, add half the garlic -- 20 cloves. Wherever there are spaces between the chicken, nestle a clove or 5 of garlic in there.

6. Place a lid on the skillet and allow the chicken and garlic to cook for 10 to 15 minutes.

7. Uncover, turn the chicken over, and continue cooking until the chicken is done -- about 10 more minutes. If your thighs are especially large, this may take longer. When in doubt use a knife to cut into a piece of chicken to test for doneness.

8. Cook the rest of the chicken and garlic in this same way, until you've cooked it all.

Recipe Notes

Serve each person a thigh or two, along with 6 or 10 cloves of garlic. The garlic isn't garlicky -- it actually becomes SWEET! There's just no way to describe it!

We like to smash the softened, browned garlic onto our chicken and dig in! If you're serving bread or veggies on the side, you might enjoy spreading the browned garlic on those.

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Have you ever heard of this gourmet dish before? Would you ever make anything with 40 cloves of garlic?